Ball in general, life on the road… on this blog, either you do or you don't.

So V2.0

A few hours after releasing So Taguchi, the Cardinals hope they’ve drafted a player who makes a perfect replacement, and then some.

Brian Barton is a speedy, right-handed hitting center fielder with some excellent Minor League numbers. For his career, he’s hit 316/416/473. He’s stolen 80 bases in 108 attempts in just 354 Minor League games. Barton is dealing with a knee injury but the club is confident he’ll be ready for Spring Training.

Personally, I like this pickup a lot. Exactly the kind of guy they should have been targeting today. More on the site later today.

So is Barton being looked on a replacement lead off guy as well. It seems like a good pickup but he’s listed as a center fielder. Are we looking at moving Edmonds to right, keeping Barton in center, and putting either Duncan or Ankiel in left, depending on which one doesn’t get traded. Also Matthew, you compared Colby Rasmus to Steve Finley. I read that he’s hitting leadoff for the the national team and he has experience doing it. Could he be our new lead off hitter by mid season? That seems to be the new idea floating around baseball lately. A lead off man with power to go aong with everything else.

I must admit I’m puzzled by this move. Let a reliable, no high-drama, not terribly expensive guy like So take a walk to acquire yet another outfielder with a questionable knee when what we still need is pitching. Not that it even matters, but So was also a fan favorite. When Eckstein’s return became unlikely, I was still looking forward to watching So play. Of all the people to release, this one made no sense to me at all, but hey, I’m only a fan.

I think, to me, the move made sense for a couple reasons. One, So has pretty much reached his peak. I don’t think he is really capable, at this level, of producing more than he already has. Unfortunately, what he did produce was not something that would earn him a starting job. Barton, on the other hand, can produce at least as well as So but has the potential to be even better. He could be a future starter in our youth movement, allowing us to trade Dunc or Ank.

In short, I think we got a player that, at his worst, will be as good as So, but at his best, will be a starting corner outfielder in the future for us.

It’s a good gamble for the future. As much as I loved So, he’s reached his peak. For a replacement player, that means it’s time to move on.

From a logical standpoint, it makes perfect sense. So’s defense fell drastically due to age, or possibly wear ‘n tear. He is 38.

Barton is the 5th best prospect from the Indians organization (an organization rich with young talent). He’s 25 (26 in April), and he gives us something we haven’t had in years: speed. 41 out of 48 bases stolen in ’06. He’s a five tool guy, and easily the best player in the Rule 5. So will only decline, Barton is a stud with absolutely no downside. It’s a great deal. Beyond that, we can know actively trade one of our OF for starting pitching.

In today’s baseball, I’m the type of guy that believes you should draft the best available player, not your needs. Whichever player has the highest ceiling, pull that deal, because you can always package him with others to grab a superstar.

With all this said, I’ll miss So more than any Cardinal since Willie McGee. I was prepping myself for an emotional ordeal when Jimmy retires (or even gets traded), but I didn’t think I’d be so sad about So’s departure. Tanoshinde kudasai, Taguchi-san, wherever you may go.

you know what the former jocketty would have done? he would have given three players or whatever to get willis, gave him a two year contract then waited for the market to dry up and put him out there for peak return. i’m so tired of talk about how great this rasmus kid is. last i remember the cards won’t play rookies until they are 30 years old, and it’s not like this kid is willi mays or even willy mcgee that we know of. what makes him so untouchable that we don’t even make an attempt at cabrerra? we shouldn’t sell the farm but roland, rasmus, and even anderson ( not sure if that was his name) would make a pretty sweet deal for a young talented major leager. this talk of trading molina because of this other kid in the system who hasn’t proven himself yet is rediculous. who wants to play the team molina gets traded to given that his offense has picked up with each season he has played.

I don’t buy into Miggy Cabrera being as good as Pujols, personally. The guy is in about as good of shape as I am, in terms of weight. He can crush a ball but he takes care of his body as well as an overweight nerd on a Cheetos binge. I’ll the 20 year old Rasmus. Why? Because every great player you can think of was 20 years old once.

man…I REALLY hope they don’t make Rasmus available like is being rumored and reported. I’m not willing to risk our future center fielder for years to come just to have one decent season (next year). Let’s just pick up a pitcher we can get without costing too much in prospects and go on with life. I’m looking more towards ’09 and hoping ’08 is respectable (which, if most of our guys are healthy, I actually think it will be).

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